Burglar steals wedding ring and gold necklace from elderly woman after tricking his way into home

The man knocked on the woman’s door, in The Thicket in Gosport, at about 4.30pm on Saturday and asked if he could turn on her taps.

He said this would lower the pressure on the water as there was a leak further up the road.

The man went into the kitchen and turned the taps on, and after going outside he returned and said everything was okay before leaving.

About an hour later the woman, aged in her nineties, went into her bedroom and realised her safe - which contained cash, a gold rope necklace, her husband’s wedding ring, a diamond engagement ring, a gate bracelet and her passport - was missing.

The man was described as white, about 40 years-old, of slim build and between 5ft 2ins and 5ft 4ins tall.

He was wearing a dark-coloured hat, dark-coloured jacket and trousers.

Two other men were also spotted near the address around the time of the incident.

One of them was described as stocky and around 5ft 10ins tall, and the other man was described as medium build and around 5ft 8ins tall.

They were both wearing dark-coloured clothing with hoods pulled up over their heads, and one of the men was wearing a high-visibility vest.

DC Andrew Sims, who is investigating, said: ‘I would like to hear from anyone who may have seen anyone acting suspicious in the area at the time.

‘I’d particularly like to hear from three men who were seen in a white transit van, as they may hold vital information to our investigation.’